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Will Amazon Become the Wal-Mart of the Web?

nytimes.com

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Re: Will Amazon Become the Wal-Mart of the Web?

#3

Post by rhartsock »

pragmatic wrote: post #2

Wal-Mart++? I've ordered lawn mower parts, (kid's) toys, a laptop, a Kindle, hard drives, etc, etc from Amazon this year. My local hardware store didn't have the lawnmower parts I needed but Amazon did.

I ordered a Wii from Amazon, got a better deal and extra crap with it...Amazon is the only place I shop online.

Re: Will Amazon Become the Wal-Mart of the Web?

#4

Post by haupt »

I can't arrange for an in-store pickup when I order something from Amazon, and I can't order a copy of any Marilyn Manson CD from Wal-Mart. I was shopping for a Magnavox DVD Recorder (model: H2160MW9) and found it for $290.99 at Amazon vs. $229.00 from Wal-Mart's site.

IMHO, both sites will continue to serve their respective niches. I don't think either juggernaut is going anywhere anytime soon. :)

Re: Will Amazon Become the Wal-Mart of the Web?

#7

Post by rabidgnat »

I think that the rise of Amazon as the primary retailer leaves the delivery market ripe for upheaval. The current delivery model is kind of awkward: they do a first delivery when you're at work, and then trying to coordinate with them becomes a huge hassle. I usually end up having packages delivered to my parents' house, since they won't leave packages at my door at my current apartment (and rightfully so!)

To me, it seems like it's in Amazon's best interest to use a delivery service that is more convenient for the end user than the current model, like picking from available delivery dates and times.

Re: Will Amazon Become the Wal-Mart of the Web?

#8

Post by x3m »

Wal-Mart is the Wal-Mart of the web. Their online holidays' sale numbers are higher than Amazon. edit: http://siteanalytics.compete.com/walmart.com+amazon.com well this shows Amazon gets 20M more traffic than Wal-Mart during peak of holiday season, but I am pretty sure Wal-Mart's sales were higher on 06

Re: Will Amazon Become the Wal-Mart of the Web?

#9

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

rabidgnat wrote: post #7

I think that the rise of Amazon as the primary retailer leaves the delivery market ripe for upheaval. The current delivery model is kind of awkward: they do a first delivery when you're at work, and then trying to coordinate with them becomes a huge hassle. I usually end up having packages delivered to my parents' house, since they won't leave packages at my door at my current apartment (and rightfully so!) To me, it…

FYI: I don't know what alternative delivery services exist (the nice thing about living way out in the country is that they'll leave anything at the door if you're not home!), but when I lived in an apt in town, I had an account with the local Mailboxes Etc. (now UPS store) and I just had my packages shipped there and could pick them up at my convenience.

Re: Will Amazon Become the Wal-Mart of the Web?

#10

Post by scottjackson »

My one annoyance with Amazon: I live in Australia, yet Amazon item pages still say, even when I'm logged in, that I've qualified for "FREE Super Saving Shiping!" A quick check of Amazon's help pages will tell you that international customers aren't eligible for free shipping of any kind. All of my shipping addresses are in Australia, but Amazon doesn't do any checking of that before saying that I've qualified.

Also, there's no Amazon Prime for international customers, which is a total shame. I understand that it's not cost-effective to give free international shipping for $75 a year, but I'd happily pay double, maybe even triple for it. The shipping costs are what kill me on Amazon -- it's the only thing that stops me from buying everything (literally, everything) from Amazon.

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